1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for making a scalp incision and implanting a hair graft therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hair transplantation techniques from years past have involved harvesting hair from the back or side of the scalp where it grows permanently, creating hair grafts which typically included 25 to 35 hair follicles in each, and implanting the hair grafts in the front, top and crown of the head where genetic balding produces hair loss. While advantageous in providing hair where none previously existed, such techniques produced visually unsightly results, commonly referred to as a "corn field" in that each hair graft is widely separated from other hair grafts and each hair graft has concentrated plugs of 10 to 35 hair follicles each.
In recent years, the inventor of the present invention has pioneered a technique known as the fast-track in which many hair micrografts (each containing 1 to 4 hair follicles) are implanted in a single surgery. When implanted in closely spaced relationship to each other, such micrografts produce a very natural looking appearance closely simulating a natural hair distribution.
As a result of the large number of grafts which are placed in a single session, the laborious method heretofore previously used, has caused the surgery time to extend from 1 to 2 hours, to 8 to 13 hours. Specifically, because the grafts consist of one or at most a few hair follicles, each graft is quite small and difficult to implant in the scalp. For example, in an effort to insert a micrograft into a scalp incision, it has been considered simply to grasp the body of the micrograft with forceps and push or pull the micrograft into the scalp incision. Such a technique has the potential to damage the hair follicle. Specifically, because of the small size of both the incision and the graft, using forceps to push or pull the graft into the incision only deforms the graft, with the graft sometimes being damaged when additional pushing or pulling pressure is applied in an attempt to force the graft into position.
Moreover, it is necessary to implant many hundreds to several thousands of grafts to produce a natural-looking hair distribution.
Because of the difficulty of each graft and the number of such grafts needed, a typical micrografting session on a single patient can last for 8 to 13 hours and involve more than a dozen technicians as well as the surgeon.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an implantation instrument which both eases the process and speeds the fast-track procedure.